Pre-Colombian, Southern Mexico to Guatemala, Olmec / Mezcala culture, ca. 1200 to 600 BCE. A fine collection of 3 stone pendants skillfully crafted from green jadeite. The 2 slender pieces represent jaguar claws, an animal revered by many pre-Columbian cultures for their strength. The darker green example has a central groove down the length of the claw. The third pendant is a rectangular, convex form that recalls the shape of maskettes, popular in Olmec culture, but is not incised or further carved. This stone is highly translucent and glows when held up to the light. All 3 are pierced to be worn and could be wearable and strung with other beads or worn as singular pendants! Size of straight claw: 2" L x 0.25" W (5.1 cm x 0.6 cm); maskette: 1.125" L x 0.9" W (2.9 cm x 2.3 cm)
Provenance: ex-Saint Petersburg, Florida, USA collection; ex-private Texas, USA collection, prior to 1970
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#164803
Condition
Minor chips and nicks to maskette stone face and peripheries. Hairline fissure along one piercing hole. Claws are in very fine condition with scattered mineral deposits.